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The Secret Service Opts To Save The GOP From Itself: Thanks President Obama

I recently observed, from afar, the origination, development, evolution, and ultimately the apparent elimination of a quintessential conundrum. Last week I saw what I considered an interesting proposal crafted in the form of a petition. Eugene Scott, a friend of mine, penned an article that appeared at CNN’s website this past Sunday, discussing this petition, which promotes allowing guns at this summer’s Republican National Convention. Needless to say, Fox, ABC, and a host of other media outlets also covered this story.

Now in the interest of full disclosure it is incumbent upon me, at this juncture, to convey the fact I am not a Republican, not leaning Republican, and not likely to vote for any of the three candidates to which the GOP-T Party’s Presidential campaign has finally and painfully winnowed. In that regard, of course I do not speak for the Grand Old Party, and naturally, I will not be in Cleveland at the Quicken Loans Arena for the Convention.

With the proverbial electronic small print is out of the way, let’s return to the issue at hand. The GOP and its gun-promoting affiliate, AKA the NRA, have taken virtually every opportunity to fervently lambast and otherwise assail President Obama, most Democrats, and any other politician and/or public official who dares not render absolute fealty to the notion of never ever under any circumstances propose, construct, or enact any form of legislation that would regulate the sale, purchase, use, or carrying of firearms.

On its face, I must admit it seems to me this is an idea whose time has come. Think of the overwhelming symmetry of logic that stands in the balance permeating this potential scenario. On one hand, on July 18-21, 2016, thousands of America’s finest citizens, emblazoned in all manner of GOP paraphernalia, will assemble at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena. If polls, the NRA, and the vast majority of GOP Congressmen (and Congresswomen) are correct, most of those visiting the Arena as Delegates, or as convention functionaries, will be gun owners and/or proponents of the previously referenced GOP stance on firearms. On the other hand, all those Congressmen and Congresswomen who walk in lockstep with the NRA will also be moving in, around, and about the facility during the entirety of the event. Sounds like Nirvana to me.

Given that these two dynamic forces that co-own a shared perspective on gun policy, along with mutual strident opposition to any new gun laws will be coalescing in one building for four days, what better way to underscore their support of what they burnish as a key principle than to urge, no make that insist upon, supporting this petition. In fact, I am simply shocked and amazed that there has been no indication, of which I am aware, of all three of the remaining GOP candidates promoting, endorsing, and in every viable way, calling for the tenets of this petition to be enacted.

The author of the petition has opted to mask his or her identity, listing “N A”/and Hyperationalist as nom de plumes. The author did seek the support of Mr. Trump, Senator Cruz, and Governor Kasich in lobbying the Republican National Committee (RNC) to support changing the Arena’s policy. Though Ohio is an open carry state, the Quicken Loans Arena does not permit the carry of firearms within the premises. The petition consists of five key points, including:

THEREFORE, WE ARE CALLING TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING POINTS OF ACTION:

From the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland:A suspension of their policy preventing the open carry of firearms on the premises of the arena from July 18-21, 2016 to coincide with the Republican National Convention.

From the National Rifle Association:An immediate condemnation of the egregious affront to the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution constituted by the “gun-free zone” loophole to the state law.

From Ohio Governor John Kasich:A concerted effort to use his executive authority to override the “gun-free zone” loophole being exploited by the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

From Reince Priebus and the Republican National Committee: An explanation of how a venue so unfriendly to Second Amendment rights was chosen for the Republican Convention. Further, we demand a contingency plan to relocate the convention to another location should the Quicken Loans Arena refuse to honor the constitutional rights of the RNC guests to open carry firearms during the convention.

From all Republican candidates for President: You have been brave in raising awareness about the immense dangers posed by “gun-free zones.” In order to ensure the safety of your supporters, delegates and all attendees at the convention in July, you must call upon the RNC to rectify this affront to our Second Amendment freedoms and insist upon a suspension of the Quicken Loans Arena’s unconstitutional “gun-free zone” loophole. Every American is endowed with a God-given Constitutional right to carry a gun wherever and whenever they please.

By yesterday the petition had amassed over 51K signatures. Alas, that seems moot, however. On Monday the Secret Service moved to put the Kibosh on NA/Hyperationalist’s petition. They announced that no firearms would be allowed past a specified checkpoint. Their explicit language was framed thusly,

“Individuals determined to be carrying firearms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perimeter checkpoint, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event.”

Undoubtedly, the Secret Service studied this issue assiduously, and eventually found a provision in federal law that authorized them to block the action promoted by the petition. They used the following citation:

“Only authorized law enforcement personnel working in conjunction with the Secret Service for a particular event may carry a firearm inside of the protected site.”

In other words, if you are not an officer of the law, a member of the National Guard, a member of the military, an agent of the Secret Service, or a member of some unit authorized by one of the preceding organizations, forget the idea of bringing a firearm into Quicken Loans Arena during the Republican National Convention. I must take a personal point of privilege here and say; no one is more disappointed by that determination than I. But I digress.

Now here is the rub. Alas, at least one site, CNET, offered the opinion that the petition itself was a satirical joyride designed to get gun-loving types even more lathered up than they are typically. At least 51K of them have signed-on as of yesterday. In framing this argument, the writer, Chris Matyszczyk, lifts several comments of the petitioner for closer examination. One in particular stood out for its levity, presuming you have a sense of humor. That statement follows below:

“It just doesn’t seem right that thousands of patriotic Republican good guys should be left totally unprotected by whatever bad guys might wish to do them harm. I mean forgodsake people; ISIS could show up to take out everybody in and around that building and they’d be sitting ducks. Sitting ducks, I tell you! There might even be a bad egg or two among the delegates.”

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